1.2 Housing and planning

Pre-Sale Finance Guarantee

The NSW Government will guarantee pre-sales for up to $1.0 billion of approved housing projects on a rolling basis, allowing developers to secure finance earlier and commence construction more quickly. This could help fast track more than 5,000 homes over the next five years and create over 1,500 jobs.

Housing delivery

This Budget provides $83.4 million to accelerate planning approvals, including for large-scale market, social and affordable housing projects. This includes $10.6 million for the newly established Housing Delivery Authority, which has sped up planning approval for 53,500 homes across 136 residential projects since January.

The Budget also invests:

• $20.9 million to support regional councils to bring forward critical enabling infrastructure for new homes by funding interest on loans
• $10.1 million to deal with water issues that affect housing and development.

This is in addition to existing investment of $450.0 million for build-to-rent dwellings for essential workers.

Enhancing construction capability

An investment of $145.0 million will support the ongoing work of the Building Commission NSW to reform the building and construction industry and give homeowners confidence in the quality of new construction.

More housing requires more skilled workers and innovation in construction. A $1.2 billion investment in TAFE will grow the skilled workforce we need to build more homes and infrastructure. This includes $40.2 million to continue fee-free apprenticeships and traineeships for priority qualifications.

More well-located homes

The NSW Government is continuing its audit of surplus government land to identify well-located sites that are suitable for housing with an additional $7.6 million. To date, the Government has released land with potential to deliver more than 8,200 new homes.

Driving investment in community infrastructure

Developers who build approved infrastructure to enable housing will be eligible for offsets on their Housing and Productivity Contribution.

Better for renters

The Government’s rental reforms are reducing or eliminating unnecessary fees imposed on New South Wales’ 2.3 million renters. This includes by providing fee-free ways to pay rent, banning fees before entering a tenancy and limiting rent increases to once per year. This is supported by the nation’s first Portable Rental Bonds Scheme.

The NSW Government is also extending land tax concessions for new build-to-rent developments.